Link and the Zombies
by GodAwfulLag
Summary: Link attempts to travel to a new land in search of allies for Hyrule, but where he ends up is not where he wanted to go. The title will most likely change, as I can't make up my mind. Anyways, this is my fourth attempt of writing a Zelda fan fiction story. Please review. I appreciate constructive criticism.
1. Chapter 1

Link waved to the people of Kakariko village as he left them on Epona. The one who stood out the most was not-so-little-anymore Colin.  
Colin's post-pubescent voice rang out, "Bye Link! Win lots of fights for us!"

Link grinned and waved goodbye to him. Colin would grow up to be a strong young man someday, and Link would be proud of him. He thought of Colin as a younger brother, and had protected him when the Gerudo raiders on their savage boars took him. Ever since then, Colin had looked up to Link as one might a father or older brother.

He would miss him and the rest of the children. Barnes, who owned the village's bomb shop, would miss his business; the Gorons did not need to buy from him often because they grew their own bomb flowers. Renado and Shad were still working together on the project of relocating the Oocca from the dizzying heights of the City in the Sky. Link shuddered as he recalled the superterranean horrors he had experienced there, not to mention the dragon at the highest point of the temple. Renado was resourceful and wise and Shad was passionate and clever, so Link had faith that they would devise the solution without much further ado.

Ilia... Link still did not know what Ilia was to him. He would have to shake those thoughts now, regardless of his surety; internal distractions killed men in the midst of battle.

His new journey, given to him by her royal majesty Queen Zelda, was to exit Hyrule through the craggy pass that cut through the Gerudo Desert, past the Arbiter's Grounds. She had asked him to explore the lands beyond, as Hyrule would need allies if another evil power was to strike the Hylian throne again.

So Link had accepted this new assignment readily and eagerly, as he grew anxious when he stayed in one place. He was excited about new exploration, as he had already covered the entire area of Hyrule on foot and hoof.

Link wore his rugged tunic of forest green and his matching conical hat which covered most of his blonde head. The tunic had chain mail sewn into the bodice underneath, which saved his life more than a few times. He carried his baldric on his back with the Master Sword, his shield, his bow, and his quiver affixed to it. He had long grown used to the weight of them, and was uncomfortable without all of them. On his belt, he carried essential equipment: the clawshot, his lantern, the magically miniaturized ball and chain, and two special pouches to hold bottles full of red potion. The rest of his equipment resided in his leather pack. He did pack his bombs of course, and made sure to buy the water bombs in case of accidental exposure to excessive moisture.

His horse tossed her head as they made their way through Hyrule field. Link's trained eyes automatically scanned the area for monsters and other enemies. He found none. He scowled. At this rate, Link was going to grow out of practice. He had not had a fight in days. He hated conflict and fighting with his very core, but he needed his skills to stay alive.

As the day met the night, Link kept Epona at a steady trot. At the rate he was moving so far, Link would make it to the desert in about two more days; Zelda had, in addition to her gifts to him, gifted his horse with incredible speed and stamina, allowing her to keep speeds and go distances no other horse alive could. He found a tree, tied Epona to it, and settled down against it to sleep.

As Link's body required little sleep because of his almost superhuman stamina, he awoke in the next four hours feeling new. Epona appeared to be revitalized as well, and he untied her and they continued on their way.

As Link and Epona passed the entrance to his home, Ordon village, he dismounted and approached the tall, well-built man who lounged against a tree.

"Rusl!" Link exclaimed, embracing the man. "It has been a while. I must thank you for taking care of Epona while I'm away, as I'll be unable to bring her."

Rusl returned his smile. "I'm happy to, Link. It's the least I can do for the hero who saved Hyrule from Ganondorf."

Link's smile fell, but Rusl didn't notice, as he was already taking Epona's reins. He disliked being reminded of who he really was.

"Have you gotten everything you need from Epona?" Rusl inquired as he was leading Epona to the entrance to Faron Woods.

"Yes, everything," said Link with a smaller, and a bit forced smile. "Thank you again, Rusl."

Link patted Epona on her head and stroked her mane to say goodbye. When he had had the power to transform into a wolf, he had spent entire days talking to her. She had taken very interesting observations about the humans around her, including Link. "Goodbye for now, old friend. I'll be back." Link said.

Link said goodbye to Rusl and and began walking in the direction of the Gerudo Desert.


	2. Chapter 2

Link breathed in the sweet Lake Hylia air as he walked on the platforms built along the rock faces that hugged the sides. Lake Hylia had a tunnel in the northern part of it that led to the Gerudo Desert. As Link reached said tunnel, he lit his lantern to cast the maroon light on the pulverized stones and boulders that littered the tunnel.

The tunnel stretched for what Link guessed to be about three hundred yards, and opened to the scorching and dry breeze of the Gerudo Desert. The dunes sparkled with the miniscule grains of sand, and Link surveyed the shimmering hills broken up by the occasional rocky outcrop.

The walking was harder here. The rays of the unforgiving desert sun coupled with the swallowing sand made Link's body sweat everywhere and gave him a dull pain in his feet and calves. The six days it took to cross the Gerudo Desert made Link irritable in the extreme, and seeing the Arbiter's Grounds along the way made it worse. The Arbiter's Grounds had been a pesky and difficult trial for Link in his first journey, the one that resulted in the defeat of Ganondorf.

The former dungeon had been refurbished by the band of heroes that had helped him in his quest to defeat Ganondorf. They met at Telma's bar in Hyrule Castle Town. Telma was a reliable and capable member of the team, and her bar had provided many nights of hearty drinking and jovial conversation.

The thought of a soft bed and a cold ale did nothing for Link's temper. His mouth watered, so he took a drink from his wineskin. His food supplies would last him another week, as he had anticipated no civilization in the neighboring lands. Link was well off with ample water and food, but he was growing anxious. He wanted a fight; some action to allow him to stretch his battle muscles.

After six long days in the mostly austere Gerudo Desert, Link finally happened upon the large crevice, wide enough for a wagon to pass through, that would take him to the new land he was meant to explore. He sighed in relief as mist poured over his body, relieving some of the pain of his bruises and especially his sunburn. The crevice was much much cooler than the open desert, but Link could only see mist ahead of him.

After what was probably hours, Link happened upon a wall of mist so dense, he had to fight to get his hand through it. 'A magical mist?' Link wondered. He decided to make camp as it was getting dark. He resolved to cross through the mist tomorrow.

* * *

Link awoke feeling well-rested yet cold. His tunic was damp with the humidity, and the chainmail underneath sparkled like a shirt of ice, refracting the light it took into rainbows. He sat up and leaned against the gnarled oak tree he had spent the night in front of. The wall of fog was still there, and just as semi-permeable. He watched the magical mist dance and reshape itself constantly.

Link stood and stretched his muscles and watched his surroundings as he did so, but nothing of even remote interest was found by his gaze. He straightened and gathered his baldric and its contents and put them all on. He walked over to the wall of ever-changing mist while stomping into his boots. 'It's time to go,' he thought sadly, and fought through the unnatural density of the fog wall to reveal a nearly identical other side. There were the same types of rocks and stones, and the same sad-looking leafy weeds penetrating through the ground.

He shouldered his pack and set on walking through the crevice again. Eventually, he exited the relatively narrow passageway into a forest. He traversed the forest, watching around every tree trunk for a possible adversary. He saw none.

He grumbled in frustration. Why must every monster in the world take a break now? Why must Link be doomed to have no action whatsoever? Did Link irritate the goddesses? Did he-

A piercing scream sounded. Link froze completely in place except for the hand that drew his sword. He scanned a full circle around him and began to run in the direction of the sound.

As he dashed through the forest, kicking up leaves as he did so, the scream grew closer and closer to him. He burst through a low swathe of foliage on a branch of a tree into a clearing.

The screaming had stopped abruptly. Link stepped cautiously and slowly further into the clearing, watching all around him, listening for a single twig out of place, and smelling for any sort of monster. His scent, gaze, and hearing were clear excepting his own noises.

Link stopped in the center of the clearing, still holding his sword and his body poised to either attack or defend. Suddenly, a chilling laugh filled the clearing.  
Walls made seemingly completely of dense wood suddenly rose up on all sides of him, trapping him in the clearing. A hard and heavy-sounding thump arose behind him. Link retreated quickly to the absolute opposite end of the clearing, and spun to face the adversary, but what he saw was unexpected.

A huge, hulking suit of steel commanded the opposite end of the encasement. It held a huge and powerful-looking two-handed monstrosity of a sword, but it wielded it easily with one hand. The other arm defended its body with an enormous shield of black steel and was decorated with dried blood and many scratches and dents.

Link immediately dropped his baldric to the ground, along with his pack. If he was to have any chance of winning against this fiend, he must be as light as possible. His chain hauberk would stay though, what little good it would do him. He crossed half of the distance between them, catching a sight of the monster's intelligent opaque slits. The helmet it wore hid most of its head from view, but it could still see, though probably not very well. Link would remember that.

'No contact whatsoever,' Link thought. 'If that thing is able to touch me with its ridiculous weapon, it'll be the end of me.' He held his sword aloft in his hand and waited for the thing to cross to him.

Very slowly, it did. Its every step shook the earth, and clinked its armor pieces together. Link began to look for weaknesses in the front of its armor. Sure enough, there weren't any. Link would have to get behind it to strike, if the past was any indication. Every heavily-armored monster soldier he had fought before had had weakness in their backs. This should not be so much different.

Hoping to surprise it, Link yelled and charged the monster, holding his sword high, as if to strike with an overhead blow. It laughed sinisterly and lifted its massive blade and struck at Link. He dodged to the left of it and tried to get around it. The giant reacted quickly and slammed Link to the side with the flat of its blade. Hard. Link hit the wall and bounced to the ground, tasting blood. His head hurt tremendously, and he almost had dislocated both of his shoulders. He replaced his cap on his head.

'Din, he's fast,' Link thought sluggishly. 'But I'll be damned if this thing will get the best of me!' He slowly got back to his feet. The monster watched him from a distance, wanting him to get back to his feet in order to fight. Link frowned. A monster with honor?

Apparently it had run out of patience because it charged Link straight on. Link knew better this time, and he dodged to its right this time and rolled for extra measure. He now was behind it and saw its weakness; a much much smaller concentration of armor in the small of its back, which Link's Master Sword would pierce easily. He lunged and hit his mark, then rolled away for safety. The monster reared and screamed, thrashing its weapons around it in a vain effort to relieve its pain. Link allowed himself a grim smile and a chuckle.

It turned to him, and, its abilities in combat seemingly unaffected, charged Link again, guarding its right side with its huge shield and raising its sword over its head. Link did not do what it must have thought he would do, and he unleashed the fury of Din's Fire. The circle of scorching flames expanded, encompassing the monster and cooking it in its own armor. It yelled, screamed, and flailed in horrible pain.

'If that somehow does not kill it, it will be almost too weak to fight.' Link thought hazily.

The monster ceased its flailing and thrashing after a few more moments and it, amazingly enough, charged again, leaving Link almost surprised enough to be caught in its attack. It was a sloppy charge, though, so Link was easily able to get behind the creature with a well-placed roll, and, with it too far to stab, he threw his sword with all his might. It buried itself in the monsters back, and most likely severed its spine. Dark blood gushed out of its wounds, and the monster screamed for a final death rattle.

It fell to the ground, raising a huge cloud of dust around it and shaking the ground. Link limped over and retrieved the Master Sword, wiping it off with one of the kerchiefs he always carried hidden in the folds of his emerald tunic. He sagged, tired. His head was pounding, his arms and shoulders burned, and his legs were aching as well. The hot feelings he had in several appendages were most likely fractures, or maybe just serious sprains. There were small cuts all over his body from the time where the monster had thrown him to the wall. He ignored them, replacing his baldric and his pack on his back. His sword he kept naked, though.

Before Link could keep traveling, though, he wondered. 'What was that screaming?' The cold laughter that had permeated the forest did not sound like the monster. The trees felt as if they were hiding something. The bark seemed to radiate uncomfortable feelings when Link looked at it closely. For another thing, the wall was still up.

He scowled. Was not the wall supposed to recede when Link defeated the monster or monters? He growled in frustration. He began to scan the stretch of wall nearest to him for footholds. He found some and tested their depth, and their strength.

He stopped when he heard a growl behind him. He turned, ready to face whatever else had come, and almost dropped his sword.  
There stood the monster soldier. It swayed on its feet, and moved with dragging feet and a groaning sound. It slouched over because of its obliterated spine.

It was very slow, but it gained speed with every step it took. Link gaped. He had killed it. He had just done it not five minutes ago. How was it walking around? Link noticed that its eyes were red as blood now. Could that mean that some sort of dark magic had revived it? Link discounted no possibilities.  
Whatever the possibilites were, Link could kill it much easier now. He sliced the straps of leather of its armor, and when it fell off, sliced the monster across its gut, spilling the wormy intestines.

It had no visible effect. Link started to worry.

He sliced again, loosing more of its insides to sprawl on the ground, and the monster slipped on them and fell. Link's bile rose, and he was nearly sick. This was unnatural in the most extreme way, and it disturbed Link. He NEEDED to kill this thing.

Worried, he stabbed, slashed, and hacked the monster over and over. He only succeeded in releasing more of its insides. He sliced its torso completely off, grounding the top half of the creature. It dragged itself toward him, groaning and moaning and drooling. He raised his blade and stabbed the thing right between its eyes. The sounds stopped. It stilled. Its eyes closed and it went completely inert.

Link sighed in relief so palpable he had to sit down, but did so ten feet away from the wreckage of the creature. He stuck his sword in the dirt and began cleaning the blade again. After he was done, he scaled the wall of wood and dropped to the forest below. After that battle, Link deserved a night to rest.


End file.
